THE BUSH FRUITS 203 



rich, clear acid making it especially palatable during 

 hot weather. It is easily grown but is often planted 

 away in a neglected corner of the garden, in which case 

 the fruit is likely to be small and of poor quality. It is 

 propagated in the same manner as the grape, shoots of 

 the last season's growth being cut up into lengths of 

 six to eight inches as soon in the fall as the leaves fall. 

 When planted early roots often form before winter sets 

 in and the plants make a large growth the following 

 spring. The cutting bed must be covered with hay or 

 coarse manure to keep them from being heaved out by 

 the frost: A rich, moist, but well-underdrained soil is 

 necessary for success with this fruit, the plants being set 

 three by five or four by six according to the variety and 

 the method of pruning. Success in growing large fruit 

 depends upon the richness of the soil and the method of 

 pruning. The largest and best fruit is borne upon 

 canes two and three years old, therefore we cut out all 

 wood older than this and thin out the small wood so 

 as to have only a limited amount of the strongest canes. 

 By this method of pruning a large yield of fruit is 

 produced and it is so large and fine that it sells for the 

 highest prices. Thorough cultivation must be given, 

 and an annual dressing of stable manure or fruit-tree 

 fertilizer. The third year from planting, young currant 

 bushes should produce a paying crop of fruit, and from 

 this time on should yield annual crops as long as they 

 are well cared for. In some soils the bushes are heaved 

 out by frosts, and in the fall, just before the ground 

 freezes up, the soil should be plowed up against them 

 or a heavy covering of stable manure be put about 

 them. The currant may be grown under the shade of 

 trees better than any other fruit. (Fig. 63.) 



